COLFAX, WA – Whitman County Deputies located more than 1,500 Fentanyl pills, 40 grams of heroin, and a half pound of Methamphetamine during a recent property crimes investigation. A 30-year-old Spokane woman, Nicole R. Simmons, was arrested as a result of that investigation. Bond was set at $50,000.
According to a press release from Sheriff Brett Myers, the case started on Tuesday evening when a complaint was made about a possible car prowling situation at a business in Oakesdale.
“Deputies were able to review video footage from the business and identified at least two vehicles believed to be involved in the incident. Deputies later determined one of the vehicles, a late model Dodge Ram Pickup, had been stolen out of the town of Palouse a day or two earlier,” Myers says.
On Wednesday morning a concerned property owner south of Tekoa called to report an occupied vehicle stuck in the mud on a county road near his home. Deputies recognized the description of the vehicle as being similar to a vehicle believed to be involved in the car prowl investigation.
“After making contact with the occupant, identified as 30yoa Nicole Simmons of Spokane, WA, it was learned she was present when the truck from Palouse was stolen. Based on that information Simmons was arrested for theft of a motor vehicle. During a search of her person, deputies located over 1500 Fentanyl Tablets, 40 Grams of Powder Heroin, and a Half Pound of Methamphetamine in the pockets of the clothing she was wearing,” Myers says, adding that at this time they believe Simmons and “at least two other individuals were involved in several property crimes in the area over the past several days.”
Investigators are working to identify others involved and to recover the stolen truck and other items taken during this alleged crime spree.
Simmons was booked into the Whitman County Jail on felony charges of Delivery of a Controlled Substance and Accomplice to Vehicle Theft.
This investigation is ongoing at this time.
